Why does the SPCA put so many animals to sleep? Is it not the SPCA's duty to care for all the animals?

This problem is faced by SPCA and many other animal welfare organisations around the world.

Many people prefer to buy animals from pet shops or pet farms. As such, too many pets are being commercially bred, resulting in a surplus of pets.

Unfortunately, people discard pets faster than homes can be found. It is physically impossible to house thousands of animals permanently at SPCA. Due to the large numbers of animals we receive, there is a selection criteria based on health and temperament in the SPCA. Once an animal is selected for adoption however, it will be kept until it is adopted.

In addition, Housing and Development Board's (HDB) restrictive rules (80% of the Singaporean population live in HDB flats) only permit the keeping of one toy breed dog per household. The SPCA is currently working with the relevant authorities on a pilot scheme to allow cats. A pilot scheme called Project ADORE that allows medium sized cross breed dogs to go to HDB flats has now been formalised. This will hopefully alleviate the space constraint faced by the SPCA.